Proposed mill rate passed as council completes 3rd day of budget talks

REGINA -- The utility budget and mill rate were passed as proposed as council completed its third day of budget deliberations

Regent Park

City councilors bounced around the idea of rescinding the $1.3 million in funding for the Regent Par 3 golf course, but in the end Jerry Flegel’s motion to rescind was defeated. The plan remains to turn it entirely into a recreational area.

Off-leash dog park

Ward four councillor Lori Bresciani motioned an off-leash dog park be added to Harding Park in the east end.

According to administration, a public meeting would need to be held and notices would need to go out to residents in the area. The motion was carried.

Mill rate

Council approved the 3.25 per cent increase to the mill rate.

Ward 7 councillor Shannon Bryce moved to take from the Parks, Recreation and Culture fund to bring the proposed mill rate down to 2.9 per cent.

The Parks, Rec and Culture fund is essentially a pot for the city to access when aging infrastructure needs improvement or more infrastructure is needed. So it’s definitely not loose money, but it’s also earmarked for future improvements in the city. #yqrcc

— Colton Wiens (@ColtonWiensCTV) December 13, 2019

Administration says future modeling found a funding gap for the city saying the proposed 3.25% mill rate increase and current budget would help close that gap. Says an average 3% mill rate increase needs to be kept for 20 years in order to close the gap and fund future. #yqrcc

— Colton Wiens (@ColtonWiensCTV) December 13, 2019

“Some of these facilities are held together by pigeon poop and duct tape” Stevens said. He indicated he wouldn’t support lowering the mill rate by talking money from the Parks, Recreation and Culture fund.

In order to bring the mill rate down to 2.95 per cent, $750,000 would need to be taken from the Parks, Rec. and Culture fund. It would make a difference of 50 cents per month per household.

Bryce, Findura and Fougere vote to support the motion, but it’s defeated. Mill rate is still proposed to be increased by 3.25% #yqrcc

— Colton Wiens (@ColtonWiensCTV) December 13, 2019

Fougere motions to use $1-million from the $6.5m surplus to bring down the mill rate proposal. Would bring the mill rate to 2.85%. Administration does not recommend using the surplus for costs like this. #yqrcc

— Colton Wiens (@ColtonWiensCTV) December 13, 2019

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  Regina City Hall can be seen in this CTV file photo.